


Middle Ground

by iblametheghost



Series: Dizzying Circles [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, BDSM, Dom Len, Dom/sub, Kinda, Kink Negotiation, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Mostly Dialogue, Sub Barry, dom/sub relationship negotiation, kinks and shit are just talked about, necessary connection chapter, no actual smut, spring break au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 18:01:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6481153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iblametheghost/pseuds/iblametheghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Len and Barry have a necessary coffee date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Middle Ground

**Author's Note:**

> this is mainly dialogue, but i needed to do this before doing a third part

Barry left the club that night with a date set for him and Len to meet up, deciding on a coffee shop nearby and the day before he left.  Thanking whatever god was in charge of spring break, Barry managed to avoid having sober conversations with Cisco and Hartley.  By the time he left to meet with Len, he was sure the two were sleeping off another hangover that he hoped was their last since they were set to leave tomorrow. 

The coffee shop was small, tucked in next to a strip of tourist-centric stores a few blocks from Len’s club.  Inside tables were scattered, some occupied, other customers moving around the small shop and looking at the various pieces of art that lined the walls.  Barry moved into the line, ordering a hazelnut latte before finding a corner booth to sit in and wait for Len. 

Within minutes he saw the door open and Len walked in, wearing a collared light blue shirt and dark black pants.  He waited as Len got a drink and then moved to the booth, sitting across from Barry. 

“Hey,” Barry greeted, smile in his voice. 

“Morning,” Len responded, annoyance strung through the muttered word. 

“It’s, uh, good to see you again, Len.”  His voice was tinged with nervousness, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. 

“Honestly, Barry, meeting you here is probably going to be the best part of my day.”

A blush swarmed Barry’s face at the sentiment, the words settling the swarm of butterflies.  Silence surrounded the two for a moment, before Len cleared his throat and linked his hands together on top of the table, seriousness wiping out any hint of annoyance in his expression. 

“So we should talk.  About what we would want from this, expectations for one another.  Our likes, dislikes, limits, rules.  And especially the possibility, and probability of a relationship starting from this.”

Barry nodded, thinking over everything they would have to talk over.  “Yeah, no, we definitely should.”

Len’s lips turned up, a smile forming under serious layer.  “Good.  We should start with expectations, see if this is something we both really want to continue.”

He fell silent, raising an eyebrow at Barry to prompt an answer.  “Right, uh, yeah.  Guess I’ll start?”  Barry paused and began to wring his hands together.  “Well, for-for me at least it’s about finding someone who’s able to take control.  To let myself go and just, not have to make decisions for a while.  For me it’s about letting go of all the problems, the thoughts that surround my mind.  To not feel stressed for a bit, actually let myself fall away for a bit.”  Stopping, Barry waited for Len to respond, trying to not let his nerves get the best of him. 

“Everything you said makes complete sense, Barry.  I think if you’re okay with what I say, then there’s a good chance of this working.  Being a dom for me is about taking care of my partner, giving them what they need.  Any pleasure I get from scenes is just furthered by making sure that whomever I’m with ends up experiencing the most pleasure that they need, even with the pain adding to it.  I-I like to take care of them, make sure that they’ve gotten what they needed.”

Barry was pretty sure his smile couldn’t get any bigger as he heard Len’s words.  “Awesome, like really awesome.  I’m-I’m super cool with like, all of that.”

“Alright then, that’s good.”  Len nodded, hands falling limp onto the table.  “I know for some people that being taken care of, especially with the way I acted after the session last night, it’s not always…desired.”

“No, no.  It was-I was a little surprised last night, but in a good way.  I-I enjoyed it, more than I could’ve thought I would.”  He paused, eyes looking down at his hands twisting together on the table.  “Honestly it was the best sex I’ve ever had, and the aftercare, well, it was exactly what I needed.”

“On the topic of aftercare, we probably should talk more about that.  I realize, we should have talked more about it before we started, but I’m hoping that what we did was good for you.”

Barry took in the nervous look of worry on Len’s face, and understood what he was asking.  “Yeah, it was good.  If you’re asking what I think you’re asking, then I didn’t drop later.  I just, for aftercare I need contact and reassurance, everything else is just extra.  Telling me when I ask how I did and just reassuring me while having as much contact as possible, that is perfect.  What you did was perfect.” 

A relieved look flashed across Len’s face before he covered it with the same serious expression as before, only letting a hint of a smile show.  “Good, I’m glad that I was able to give you what you needed, Barry.”  Len paused, worrying the handle of his coffee cup.  “If you’re serious about coming out here once you’re done with school, then we definitely need to talk about limits.”

Silent, Barry ran over the list of reasons he’d composed as to why it was a good idea to move here after spring break.  Deciding that any cons were small and workable he knew his answer would be yes.  “I am, Len.  I’ve gone over it in my head it actually makes a lot of sense.  My family pretty much lives here anyway, it was just cheaper to go to college elsewhere.  Moving back here, especially with the high crime rate, shouldn’t be a problem at all.”

“High crime rate?  How is that even remotely a valid reason to move somewhere?”  Len’s look was incredulous, shock clear in his widened eyes. 

Laughing, Barry shook his head, trying to lessen Len’s worry.  “No, no for me it works.  I’m planning on being a CSI and well, there’s a lot of crime here, so extra help is always good.” 

“CSI, huh?  Alright, Scarlet.  If you’re sure, then let’s talk about limits.”

“Yeah, yeah.  For me it’s pretty basic stuff, like no shit and piss that’s just gross.  Uhm, I’m not sure about public yet.  No needles, that’s just weird.  And no knives and shocks.”  Deciding to give Len an answer to the unasked question from their night together, he continued.  “My mom was murdered from a knife that caught me, and I was struck by lightning about a year ago, set me back in college by two semesters.  That’s about it for me though on limits that I can think of right now.”

“I-I’m sorry, Barry.  That-That must have been really rough.”

“It was, but I can’t change the past, only the future.”

Len hummed, mulling over the new information.  “A good way to live life.  For me it’s just about not intentionally hurting me.  My-I grew up in a rough environment and, well, it’s left its scars.  Partially why I like taking care of my partners after scenes.  I’m more than good without anything that you said, and I’m sure we can work on figuring out if you are or aren’t into public stuff.  I’m cool with or without it, but I’m definitely willing to help you figure it out.”

“I’m so sorry, Len.  And that, that would be cool.  I have a feeling that…Working on that with you would be pretty enjoyable.”

“I’m glad you think so.  We should also go over likes and dislikes while we’re at it.” 

“Well, I-I don’t have a comprehensive list since my experience has been a bit…incomplete, but I did enjoy everything that you did last night.”

Len sat for a moment, expression shrouded.  “Everything?  There wasn’t one thing that you didn’t like?”  His voice was guarded and his eyes never left Barry’s face, watching for any change in expression.

Thinking back on the pleasure of the night Barry went over all the different parts of the scene.  “Yeah, I was good with everything you did, Len.  There wasn’t a part of it that I didn’t like.”

“That’s great, then.”  Len paused, brow furrowing in thought.  “Was there anything you especially liked?”

“The ropes,” Barry immediately answered, not having to put any thought into his answer.  “Definitely loved the ropes.”  Blushing, Barry ducked his head as he continued.  “And I-I really enjoyed the plug.  It, um, it also really helped leaving it in for most of the aftercare.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”  Len winked at him, serious expression from before morphing fully into happiness.  “Since you don’t have any ‘set’ likes or dislikes, then I suggest we work on figuring it out as we go.  Learn from our experiences, if you will.”

“Makes sense.  Does that mean we’re really gonna do this, Len?”

“I’m all for it if you are too, Barry.”

“Awesome, because I definitely want to continue this.”

“In that case, Scarlet, we should talk about rules and what could come from this.”  Another pause came from Len as he began to twist the now-empty mug on the table-top.  “What do you want from this?”

Barry waited before speaking, trying to gather the words together in his head.  “I-I know this sounds, well, fast, but I wouldn’t mind a relationship?  I mean, I fall hard and fast for people and you, you…That night I fell.  You were so kind to me and made sure I was okay and gave me so many opportunities to stop if I needed to.  We even talked about everything beforehand and you were so wonderful in it all.  I mean, I know I don’t know much about you, but I do know you care for your sister.  A lot.  And you at least like to read, since you were a total nerd and named your club after a book.  Which is kinda really cool.  And, well, I don’t know I, I don’t think I’d mind getting to know you in a-in a relationship sense at all.”

Finished speaking, Barry fell silent, eyes focused on his hands that twitched against the table.  “Barry, I…That, that sounds really nice.  I-I think that I would also like to try.”

A grin broke across Barry’s face, joy lighting his eyes.  “That’s great!  I’m-I look forward to it.”

“So, since we’re both willing to give it a shot when you…come back, we should go over rules.  This might be a bit uncommon, but do you have any ‘rules’ that you’d at least like me to consider?”

Barry’s fingers began to tap out a nervous rhythm, a blush marking his face again.  “Would you…Are we like, exclusive?”

Len huffed out a laugh, head shaking with a smile on his face.  “Barry, would you like us to be exclusive?” 

The blush on Barry’s face grew stronger, eyes darting around the café.  “I-If you’re okay with it, then, yeah?”

“Oh, Barry.  Being exclusive with you is certainly worth it if I get to spend time with you.”

“Uh, that’s-that’s cool.  I-I don’t really have anything else then I think.”

“Okay, if you think of anything else then, let me know.  Do we want to start thinking about rules now or wait till you’re back?”

“We could go over them, get an idea for the future set.”

“Alright,” Len nodded, before continuing.  “We can skype and do phone calls, so that will be helpful for the month or so before you’re here.  How about, I say a possible rule and you say yay or nay if you’re okay with it?”

“Sounds good,” Barry said, nodding. 

“So, no other people, at least unless we explicitly talk about it beforehand.”

“Sure.”

“Aftercare is always necessary after a scene.”

“Definitely yes.”

“Would you be willing to wear a collar?”

Another blush rushed Barry’s cheeks.  “On-only in private.”

Len’s brow furrowed, knotting in concern.  “If you want I can get a selection and then we can choose which one is more suitable later.”

Barry’s blush grew in strength.  “That sounds good.”

“When you are here, we might want to think about setting up a time every week where we can try and get you into subspace.”

“Yeah, that sounds good, but we should definitely wait to set something like that up.  At least until everything else gets sorted.”

“Punishment.  I think that for not following orders or back talking, ten spanks per time is fine.  After twenty the spanks should be switched to a paddle.  If it for some reason gets up to forty, then I think not coming would be a good punishment.  Does all that sound okay, for now?”

“I think for now that sounds fine.  I-I don’t know how I’ll respond after more than ten, but I’m willing to try.”

Len paused, expression contemplative as he thought.  “We should probably wait until we have a better understanding when you’re here to set more rules.  Otherwise, I think we just try and keep an open line of communication between each other.  Let each other know what we’re thinking and what we want or don’t want.”

“Yeah, I think that as much as we want to set this up now, there’s still gonna be a lot of variables before everything gets sorted.”

A small frown pulled at Len’s lips as he sighed.  “I think you’re right, Scarlet.  Just going to have to take this thing little by little.”

Barry nodded and checked his watch, realizing that the two had been talking for almost two hours, the time having sped by in quick words and long pauses.  “Not, not that I don’t want to stay longer, but I do have to head out.  I promised I’d be back soon to help my friends pack because they’re super hungover.”

“I understand completely, Barry.  If it helps, I have to go meet with my sister to go over the details of the ‘business trip’ she’ll be taking.”

Laughter spilled from Barry’s lips, the sound echoing in the coffee shop.  “You were serious about that?”

Chuckling, Len nodded.  “Completely, she’s a very demanding person.”

“Well, tell her thank you for me.  And we’ve already got each other’s numbers from…that night, so I guess we’ll just be in touch.”

The two stood from the booth, moving closer to each other.  Len reached for Barry’s shoulder, pulling the other man to him.  Their lips met in a soft kiss, both knowing this would be the last time they saw each other for a while.  Len pulled back from Barry, biting gently on his lower lip. 

“Guess I’ll be seeing you, Scarlet.”

“See you soon, Len.”

**Author's Note:**

> so apparently i did decide to continue this, so enjoy, the third part will probs be like smut  
> feel free to drop a line here or on my tumblr: iblametheghost
> 
> ps thanks for all the kind responses on the first part!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


End file.
